Chicago River among most threatened waterways in U.S., group says

River's level of pollution called 'unacceptable' by conservation organization

May 17, 2011|By Michael Hawthorne, Tribune reporter

As the Obama administration pushes to clean up the sewage-laden Chicago River, a conservation group Tuesday will declare it one of the nation's most threatened waterways.

Citing the 1.2 billion gallons of partially treated human and industrial waste dumped into the river every day, American Rivers for the first time is adding Chicago-area waterways to its annual list of "America's Most Endangered Rivers." The group says the Chicago River is among 10 nationwide where policymakers are considering action to address significant threats to people and wildlife.

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Illinois officials to adopt more stringent water-quality standards to make stretches of the Chicago River, Cal-Sag Channel and Little Calumet River safer for recreation. Officials noted the channels increasingly are drawing kayakers, paddlers and boaters who can ingest significant amounts of water while plying the waterways.

The cleanup would require up to $72 million in new germ-killing equipment at two sewage treatment plants and $355 million to complete the Deep Tunnel project, a labyrinth of sewer pipes and reservoirs designed to store waste and storm runoff until it can be treated.

"It's unacceptable that the people of Chicago are being denied basic, modern disinfection techniques used by nearly every other city in the country," said Gary Belan, director of American Rivers' clean water program. "This is an opportunity not only to protect public health, but to make a clean and healthy Chicago River the centerpiece of a revitalized waterfront and world-class city."

For most of the last century, it was assumed that people wouldn't want to come near waterways that had been reversed away from Lake Michigan to separate the city's waste from its source of drinking water. Most of the water in the river is partially treated sewage, and after rainstorms a noxious mix of untreated waste and runoff frequently overflows into the waterways.

But as changes required by federal and state laws steadily improved water quality during the last 25 years, the Chicago River has become a civic amenity. City officials have spent more than $100 million improving public access, including boat launches, riverwalks and waterfront parks.

After five years of study and two years of hearings — the longest environmental rule-making in Illinois history — a state panel last year tentatively decided the waterways aren't clean enough. Last week's order from the U.S. EPA calls for more aggressive action to scour disease-causing bacteria from the river and keep raw sewage out of the channels.

Chicago is the only major U.S. city that skips an important germ-killing step during sewage treatment. As a result, the average amount of bacteria in the water is more than 500 times higher than levels in the Fox River downstream from Elgin's sewage treatment plant.

Officials at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, an independent agency that oversees the Chicago River and operates sewage treatment plants for Chicago and Cook County, remain fiercely opposed to the cleanup plans. They contend the waterways have been altered so dramatically that new efforts to improve water quality would not be worth the costs.